Mom had more than one Swiss steak recipe included in her culinary legacy. The handwritten recipe below caught our eye first, so let’s make a go of it.

Wait! Did you honestly think before we dove into this recipe that I wouldn’t “wax on” about this or that (or both)? Well you’re right!

You might learn a few things about this tasty dish, as did I. Most shockingly, this recipe does not hail from Switzerland – FOR REAL? Yes, if Wikipedia is remotely true, (and I believe that it is), I’ve been wrong about this small but tastefully important detail my entire life. Read why here.

♥ If you’re feeling rather hungry and you don’t want to pound/tenderize the meat, you can simply coat the steak with the flour mixture by tossing them all together. But don’t blame me if you have second thoughts!

♥ Sadly, my local market (cough-cough-HEB-cough) was out of the cuts of meat I was looking for. Sniffle! Sniffle! But I found boneless chuck steak ribs and they were quite good. But on the next go, I’ll try waking up early in the day for a run at the steak.

♥ Serve with a bountiful sidekick of instant potatoes? Hey, don’t hate! This blog is about functional food from the 1950s – 1970s, so that’s what we ate … and we loved it! And yet I’m still alive to blog about it. I fondly remember black packets of Borden Brand Instant Mashed Potatoes prepared with a divot generously filled with melted butter and a sprinkling of Lawry’s Brand Seasoned Salt (shown above). My brother Roger tells me that Idahoan has filled the void sadly left by Borden. I read more online about the blows to the Borden brand and he’s right. Tonight my partner Joe thanked me more than he did at Christmastime for making this savory starch “with no nutritional value.” That says a lot about his love of instant potatoes … and my skills with gift giving. :\

♥ Whoopsie! Forgot to add the peas near the preparation dismount … probably because I was overly-focused on the “sinsationally” starchy potatoes and garlicky green bean sidekicks.

King Wah was the nicest Chinese food restaurant I had ever been to… until years later when my cousin Melissa married in San Francisco; after the ceremony we ate at a fancy Chinese food restaurant called the Empress of China, which was a beaut.

Flash back 1980s. King Wah was located in a white office building at the SE corner of Loop 410 and Wurbach road (1800 NE Loop 410) in my childhood home town of San Antonio.

Inside King Wah you’d find
white table cloths, fancily dressed wait staff and large round tables that the expanded family would gather around. Why, there must have been 10-12 of us feeding at a single table! While I only ate at King Wah with my Aunt Sister, Uncle Bill and the wolf pack (my cousins), it was one of the few times I can remember that felt more Thanksgiving than mere Chinese dining. King WOW!

Today I live precisely 270.42 miles from where King Wah was located. But thanks to this savory lip-smacking recipe featuring the egg roll, I can relive the mouth-watering memories growing up… and the taste of the exotic orient. I will be eating this again!

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add Chinese pea pods and cook until pods have separated from one another and they’re tender crisp, about 2 minutes. Remove pea pods from skillet and reserve.

3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil to the skillet. Add beef strips and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef loses its pink color.

5. Stir cold water slowly into the cornstarch and add to skillet mixture.

6. Blend well and heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and thickened. Pour into a greased 1½-quart shallow casserole.

7. Cut egg rolls in half lengthwise and place spoke-fashion on middle top of casserole. Arrange cooked pea pods at edges of casserole.

8. Place in a preheated 350°F oven for about 25 minutes, or until rolls are crisp on top. Serve with rice, if desired?

Foodie Tips ~

♥ While the egg roll flavor was not specified, because this recipe calls for beef round, I suggest a simple veggie egg roll to accompany the beef.

♥ What’s a “Chinese Pea Pod?” It’s also known as a Snow Pea or a Sugar Pea. Technically they’re different than edamamme (a sweet bean). You’re likely to find them frozen vs. fresh at your local grocery.